Chapter 121: Chapter 93: City Resource Hegemony Battle! (2)
The toxins within the flowers’ digestive fluid could become a daily feast for Shen Xuan’s Order Beast, the Mother of Ten Thousand Erosions.
Not only that, but after a Red-Faced Hibiscus evolves into a Red Poisonous Wood Hibiscus, the potency of the toxins in its digestive fluid would increase severalfold.
It could also be sold for a high price as a Poison-Attribute material.
Just as Zhong Yi was placing the Red-Faced Hibiscus into his Storage Pouch, he saw Shen Xuan jogging into the backyard.
Shen Xuan visibly relaxed upon seeing Zhong Yi and hurried to speak.
"Young Master, can I join your team now?"
Shen Xuan had been greatly looking forward to attending Starlight Academy, knowing it was a place where he could gain knowledge.
But once he arrived, Shen Xuan discovered the academy wasn’t what he had imagined.
Shen Xuan enrolled as a Celestial Destiny Seeker, and the moment he entered as a transfer student, he was welcomed by everyone in his class.
During Guardian Beast Observation class, a few students even started arguing over who would get to sit next to him.
As they argued, they kept bringing up their family’s influence, their words laced with the arrogance of those used to getting their way through power.
Shen Xuan knew full well that if Zhong Yi hadn’t taken him from the Greenfield Tavern, used some miraculous method to remove the Slave Mark from his face,
and helped his Soul Base awaken, turning him into a Celestial Destiny Seeker,
then even if Zhong Yi had sent him here to study, he would have been nothing but an object of their discrimination and contempt.
To Shen Xuan, their fawning wasn’t a pleasure, but a burden.
Shen Xuan knew perfectly well they were only fawning over him to exploit his status as a Celestial Destiny Seeker for their own gain.
Before he entered Starlight Academy, Lin Zhuo and Wen Tao had already thoroughly explained the implications of being a Celestial Destiny Seeker to him.
When he was being bullied, beaten into a ball on the ground, only one person had brought him a meal.
Now, Shen Xuan knew that meal was called a Tuna Taco.
Shen Xuan maintained a basic level of politeness toward these people who actively tried to curry favor with him.
He showed no particular closeness to anyone and had no intention of making friends.
From his very first class, all Shen Xuan could think about was getting home that night and joining Zhong Yi’s team immediately.
Shen Xuan had been a slave at the Greenfield Tavern for five or six years. At sixteen, he might not match his classmates at Starlight Academy in terms of worldly perspective and general knowledge.
But when it came to social experience and the ways of the world, he was far beyond anyone his age.
On the way back, Shen Xuan had come to understand why Zhong Yi wanted him to grasp the true meaning of his identity as a Celestial Destiny Seeker before making a choice.
Zhong Yi’s approach proved that, just as he’d said, he didn’t view Shen Xuan as a slave or a servant.
Instead, he treated him as a partner, the same way he treated Zhong Ling.
Cradling Lan Po in one arm and Ice Glaze in the other, Zhong Yi stood up, his expression growing serious.
"Ah Xuan, you’ve made your decision? You want to join my team?"
Shen Xuan nodded, his expression equally serious.
"Yes, Young Master. Right now, what I want most is to join your team."
"Sister Zhuo and Brother Tao told me today that if I don’t like the atmosphere in my classes at Starlight Academy, they can arrange for private tutoring."
"I’m planning to apply for it after we get back from the Secret Realm."
"I don’t have any foundation. Xiaolingdang is already a bit ahead of me, so how about she and I go to Starlight Academy together then?"
"That way, we can travel to and from school together."
Zhong Yi smiled and nodded.
"Xiaolingdang will be thrilled to hear you want to go to Starlight Academy with her."
"After we move, you two can take a Guardian Beast Vehicle back and forth between home and Starlight Academy. The trip will only take ten to fifteen minutes."
"You’ll be able to come home for lunch and a rest every day before going back for the afternoon session."
Even if Shen Xuan hadn’t mentioned it, Zhong Yi had already been planning to send Zhong Ling to Starlight Academy.
Zhong Ling was a little girl who loved to read. In fact, she had already finished all the books Zhong Yi had given to Shen Xuan.
Now that Shen Xuan had brought it up, it was the perfect opportunity to have him take Zhong Ling to the academy with him.
With a Celestial Destiny Seeker like Shen Xuan around, there was no way Zhong Ling could be bullied at Starlight Academy.
Besides, since Shen Xuan was requesting private tutoring, most of their lessons would be taught by a dedicated teacher guiding just the two of them.
They would only have to join the other students for a handful of classes.
When Shen Xuan heard Zhong Yi say they were moving to the Central District, he quickly spoke up.
"Young Master, Sister Zhuo and Brother Tao said I could go to the Central District and pick out a residence."
"They said it’s a benefit provided by Starlight City to all Celestial Destiny Seekers."
"I was thinking, it would be a waste not to take such a great offer. So, I’ll just choose a residence right next to yours."
"If you’re willing, we could even connect the two properties."
At these words, Zhong Yi recalled the model he had seen in the Star Law Hall. There was indeed an unselected property right next to his own.
The property’s interior was nothing special, but it covered a large area.
There were no major city roads between the two properties, so joining them wouldn’t affect traffic in the Central District.
To buy a property like that in the Central District—setting aside the issue of even being qualified to purchase one...
...even if it were on the open market, it would be impossible to buy without tens of billions of Federation Coins.
Even in Zhong Yi’s past life, a property like this would have cost several billion RMB at a minimum.
After all, the sheer amount of land it occupied was enormous!
"Come on, let’s go to the front hall. Brother Zhao should be back soon."
"Get a good night’s rest. We’re heading out to explore the Secret Realm first thing in the morning."
As Shen Xuan followed Zhong Yi toward the front hall, he gave him a pleading look.
"Young Master, why haven’t you given me the insect egg?"
"Didn’t you say you’d give it to me when I joined your team?"
Anyone who didn’t know the situation might have thought Shen Xuan was asking Zhong Yi for some kind of treasure.
Zhong Yi’s expression was one of mild exasperation.
Originally, Zhong Yi had planned to give the Soul-Catching Gu Mother’s egg to Shen Xuan as a means of control.
But after getting to know him for a few days, Zhong Yi no longer felt it was necessary.
Shen Xuan, however, clearly considered the Soul-Catching Gu Mother’s egg to be a matter of great importance.
Since Shen Xuan wanted it, Zhong Yi handed the Soul-Catching Gu Mother’s egg to him.
After all, the Soul-Catching Gu Mother’s egg wouldn’t have any negative effects on Shen Xuan.
On the contrary, the Insect Protein released by the egg within his Soul Base would actually enhance the sensitivity of his soul.
Upon receiving the Soul-Catching Gu Mother’s egg, Shen Xuan immediately placed it within his Soul Base.
In that moment, Shen Xuan felt completely at ease!
As Shen Xuan saw it, this tiny egg brought him closer to Zhong Yi.
It added a new layer to the bond between them.
Zhao Kai returned just in time for dinner.
Upon his return, the first thing Zhao Kai did was present four Dragon-Speaking Minks to Zhong Yi.
"Young Master, these four Dragon-Speaking Minks are in the best condition of any available at the Starlight City Craftsmen’s Guild."
"The apprentice recruitment went very smoothly today. All twenty Craftsman Apprentice positions have been filled."
"Among them are fifteen One-finger Creators and five Two-finger Creators. I’ve sent them all to Brother Huai’s place."
"I also selected ten of the Sleeping Dream Moths you asked for and sent them over as well."
"I’ve specifically assigned five apprentices to raise these ten Sleeping Dream Moths."
"By the time you return from the Secret Realm and move in, these ten Sleeping Dream Moths should all have been raised to the Extraordinary Tier and Silver Quality."
In the few days he had spent with Zhao Kai, Zhong Yi had discovered the man had a strong talent for administration, handling everything in a neat and orderly fashion.
Zhong Yi didn’t intend for a Four-finger Peak Creator like Zhao Kai to get bogged down with too many miscellaneous tasks.
However, with such excellent administrative talent, Zhao Kai was definitely the right person to manage these newly recruited Craftsman Apprentices.
